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The obligatory HBP post
Here there be spoilers, so don't venture beneath the cut if you don't want them. But if you want the cute icon, check out ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
iharthdarth's latest. Though you should just check it out, regardless.
Mayara13 said it most concisely - OMFG. The first OMG moment came when Harry cursed Draco with the spell whose name I cannot remember. The fact that Harry got almost nil punishment for using some very dark magic grated a bit, but still a very dramatic scene. I felt for poor Draco, something I have yet to do in any of the previous books.
And Snape - dear God, this book is as much his at it is Harry's. The fact that he was a half-blood (well, *the* Half-Blood) came as a bit of a surprise, but it does make sense, and you see how Voldemort could have won him over. And given what we had seen of Snape's childhood in the last book.. And while I hate to seem like a Lily/Severus shipper, I do think he had a friendship with her at some point until it was torn apart. I can just see them, two bright Potions students, finding some kind of common thread that grew into something more until it could no longer exist. Because otherwise Dumbledore's explanation of Snape's turn from the dark side makes no sense. Snape wouldn't care if the Voldemort was after James - hell, he'd probably help kill him off. But Lily and her child - I don't think he'd let that happen.
And in agreement with cygna_hime, I don't see Snape as evil - I think he killed Dumbledore according to Dumbledore's own plan. The argument Hagrid overheard, the fact Snape had saved Dumbledore's life numerous times before, the digust on his face while doing the deed and the rage afterwards, which had to be self-directed - Harry, I know you will realize, likely towards the end, that Snape was Dumbledore's man, too.
Now for everything else - Slughorn I liked, very much. Nice to have more three-dimensional Slytherins! I liked the bits with Luna, especially with her as the Quidditch announcer. The romance was as expected, though Hermione seemed to be almost out of character at times with her attempts to make Ron jealous. Then again, maybe she's just being a teenage girl. And the explanation of the prophecy, on how it was self-fulfilling, like most prophecies are - thank you, thank you, thank you. The prophecy never quite sat right with me, and this made me feel much better. I actually let out a little sigh of relief after that chapter.
And so, now another two to three years before book 7, two to three years to speculate and theorize until another Friday evening in a bookstore, eagerly awaiting the opening of the boxes.
iharthdarth's latest. Though you should just check it out, regardless.Mayara13 said it most concisely - OMFG. The first OMG moment came when Harry cursed Draco with the spell whose name I cannot remember. The fact that Harry got almost nil punishment for using some very dark magic grated a bit, but still a very dramatic scene. I felt for poor Draco, something I have yet to do in any of the previous books.
And Snape - dear God, this book is as much his at it is Harry's. The fact that he was a half-blood (well, *the* Half-Blood) came as a bit of a surprise, but it does make sense, and you see how Voldemort could have won him over. And given what we had seen of Snape's childhood in the last book.. And while I hate to seem like a Lily/Severus shipper, I do think he had a friendship with her at some point until it was torn apart. I can just see them, two bright Potions students, finding some kind of common thread that grew into something more until it could no longer exist. Because otherwise Dumbledore's explanation of Snape's turn from the dark side makes no sense. Snape wouldn't care if the Voldemort was after James - hell, he'd probably help kill him off. But Lily and her child - I don't think he'd let that happen.
And in agreement with cygna_hime, I don't see Snape as evil - I think he killed Dumbledore according to Dumbledore's own plan. The argument Hagrid overheard, the fact Snape had saved Dumbledore's life numerous times before, the digust on his face while doing the deed and the rage afterwards, which had to be self-directed - Harry, I know you will realize, likely towards the end, that Snape was Dumbledore's man, too.
Now for everything else - Slughorn I liked, very much. Nice to have more three-dimensional Slytherins! I liked the bits with Luna, especially with her as the Quidditch announcer. The romance was as expected, though Hermione seemed to be almost out of character at times with her attempts to make Ron jealous. Then again, maybe she's just being a teenage girl. And the explanation of the prophecy, on how it was self-fulfilling, like most prophecies are - thank you, thank you, thank you. The prophecy never quite sat right with me, and this made me feel much better. I actually let out a little sigh of relief after that chapter.
And so, now another two to three years before book 7, two to three years to speculate and theorize until another Friday evening in a bookstore, eagerly awaiting the opening of the boxes.
no subject
After saying that, I called Cat Head, as I knew she was still dying to talk to people about it, and we discussed it for a while, including our thoughts on the "is Snape really evil, or did Dumbledore sacrifice himself" question, including potential consequences; Cat Head has a bit of a thing for Snape (he's her favorite character), and very much wants, in her words, a "happy fluffy bunny" ending for him, but neither of us really see that for him, no matter which side he really turns out to be on.
Oh, and I think Hermione was clearly doing a "I'm such a teenage girl" reaction to Ron's "I'm such a stupid, teenage boy, overreacting to the past and doing stupid things" behavior.
I, too, felt a bit sorry for Draco in this book, unlike in past ones, and saw a potential for him to maybe not turn out to be another Lucius in the long run.
As for Snape, my first OMG moment was when I had the same reaction as Bella when he did the Unbreakable Vow. I didn't know for sure, but I wasn't completely surprised when it was made completely clear what Draco's assignment was, so I kept doing a "is he really evil, after all, and not just creepy and slimy, or how is he going to get out of this one?" After all, I was pretty sure that Malfoy's task was to kill, and that the intended target was either Harry or, after a little thought, Dumbledore. But the way it happened -- OMFG -- not what I was expecting...
And I also see a possibility for Lily's death being connected to Snape switching sides. As you said, he didn't care much for James, but there have been hints (somewhat blatant ones, for me to remember them so clearly, I think) that he was a bit fond of Lily; I think it was somewhat unrequited, in that I think he felt more for her than she did for him, but she also seemed to be the nicest to him that we saw anyone be in the relevant flashbacks.
Oh, and I so agree with the whole prophecy thing; I thought the whole "the prophecy is correct because that's what you'd do anyway, you're not doing it because the prophecy was made" explanation was great -- Harry wasn't born to fight Voldemort, he just happens to have enough of a reason to do so that he won't stop until one of them no longer survives...
Think that's long enough of a comment?
no subject
I like the Lily-Severus friendship idea a lot. The trouble is, I know everyone who sees it will turn it into a 'ship. I hate that.
This is *the* book of the lot for showing better sides to the characters Harry hates. Draco, Slytherin in general, Snape...I like Slughorn, too. He was a favoritist, and Harry maybe ended up thinking him weak, but he was a better character than most. It did Harry good to realise he can't tell Slytherins apart when he sees them as adults.
Howdy!
no subject
I just pray that we won't end up with Ginny and Harry pulling some kind of Care Bare deal defeating The Dark Lord with love alone. Because that would be just too cheesy, even thought he ability to love is the huge (and perhaps only?) difference between Voldemort and Harry.
And so, now another two to three years before book 7, two to three years to speculate and theorize until another Friday evening in a bookstore, eagerly awaiting the opening of the boxes.
That's part of the fun, isn't it? And boy, there is so much Rowling has to stuff into that seventh book. Of course it's very ironic in a way that it will be seven books, like there are seven Horcruxes. Find those other Horcruxes, destory then. Find Voldemort and destory them. Find out what the deal is with Snape, wrap up the Dursleys and so on. That is one daunting task, if you ask me. :)